The Samsung Chromebook 2 was formally announced this week to much attention — but not for the usual reasons.

What attracted most comment was the look of the device. Samsung’s decision to lavish a texturised leather-look material on the lid of the notebooks was met with a divided response.

With the company now sending out hi-res images of the devices, we can get a better look at the faux-leather furnishings in all their monochromatic glory.

13.3-Inch Model (Titanium Gray)

The $399.99 13.3-inch Samsung Chromebook 2 features an impressive full HD LED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The display is cased in a texturised plastic designed to resemble leather, a look that even sees moulded stitching on the seams.

The leather-look lid…

…complete with mock-stitching.

Skin aside, theres a slim profile

Power is provided by an eight-core Samsung Exynos 5 Octa SoC clocked at 2.1 GHz on four A15 cores, and 1.5 GHz on the slower, but more power efficient A7 cores. This is teamed up with 4GB of DDR3L RAM, a 16GB eMMC SSD, and Mali-T628 MP6 graphics clocked at 695 MHz.

It comes with a 720p HD webcam, built in WiFi and Bluetooth. Ports include a HDMI out, MicroSD card slot, and 2x USB.

The device weighs in at 3.09 Ibs, and has a 0.65-inch tall profile when the lid is closed.

Samsung say users can expect to get around 8.5 hours of battery life on a single charge when used under “typical conditions”.

11.6-Inch Model (Jet Black, Classic White)

While smaller in stature than its more sizeable sibling, the 11-6-inch version of the Chromebook 2 is no less impressive.

Available in two colour options, Jet Black and Classic White, the device features the same faux-leather look as its bigger brother, but which looks slightly less formal at first glance thanks to the monochromatic colour choices.

One side…

…the other side…

…head-on.

Being cheaper means there is a slight trade-off in performance. While it also utilises the innovative eight-core Samsung Exynos Octa SoC, it comes in at a fractionally slower clock speed of 1.9 GHz, while the Mali-T628 GPU is lowered to 533 MHz.

Classic white works well

The texture is less noticeable

Clean lines and bright feel

Elsewhere the devices matches the 13.3-inch model, with the same 4GB RAM and 16GB flash storage and the same selection of ports.

Battery life is pegged at 8 hours owing to the fractionally smaller battery. The Samsung Chromebook 2 will retail at $319.99.

Thanks for pointing that out. This got me confused: “The Samsung Chromebook 2 will retail at $319.99.” If it said “The 11″ Samsung Chromebook 2…” it would’ve been clear.

http://omgubuntu.co.uk/ Joey-Elijah Sneddon

Yeah, I can see how that would. That said, it is under the heading titled “11-inch model”

Nicolae Crefelean

“The $399.99 13.3-inch Samsung Chromebook 2 features”

“Battery life is pegged at 8 hours owing to the fractionally smaller battery. The Samsung Chromebook 2 will retail at $319.99.”

Yes, it’s under the 11-inch model and it still begs for the “11.6-inch” detail for everyone not reading every single word.

http://www.live-craft.com/ Jonathan Alfonso

Looking very nice :)

http://johnlafitte.com/ John Lafitte

So what screen resolution is the 11″ model?

miri

The usual 1366×768

moe

i wish the 13.3 comes in more color options.

JPB

Yes, and I really could do without the faux leather. I’m thinking that’s going to be a dirt magnet. Still could be an interesting upgrade from the HP11. I want to look at the screens side-by-side though. Also, kinda like my USB charging. I don’t think this has that, right?

Wildnorth

Same opinion on the color options. If it came in black I’d already be pulling out my credit card. Regarding the Faux leather, I initially thought the same thing, but the faux leather on my Galaxy Note is just fine. I would avoid white, but other than that you don’t get all the smeary fingerprints, and it has a nice soft touch with good grip-ability.

Mehmed

In Germany the 11 Inch model seems to have just 2 gigs of ram.

FelschR

Where did you get that information? I thought the Chromebook 2 isn’t even announced for Germany yet?!

Mehmed

It was announced at the Cebit, you can visit the Cebit in Hannover and will see the Chromebook there. But there is no release date or price announced.

I’m going to the “Samsung Experience” showroom in NYC at the end of March. They don’t sell merchandise there,, they just showcase it. I’m almost ready to buy the 13.3″ model but I wonder why it doesn’t come with 32GB of storage like my phone?

Jasper Vinkenvleugel

Because Chrome doesn’t need it. And if you do, you can put an SD card in the Chromebook.

FrY10cK

Oops. Just discovered the NYC showroom is closed.

I’m still unclear on the following concept: Why does a 5.7″ phone (Note 3) need 32GB ROM/system storage but a 13.3″ laptop only needs 16GB?

Is the Galaxy Note 3 ROM bigger than the Chromebook 2 ROM due to cellular, GPS and other funtions? Are there custom ROMS for chromebooks?

I’m about this >.< close to swiping the old credit card (Bestbuy? Staples?) but I want to be certain my $400 buys an adeqate SSD.

Jasper Vinkenvleugel

On Android, there are apps that take up over a gig of storage, and the Note’s ROM is indeed much bigger (because of bloatware) than Chrome OS. 16GB is exactly enough.

Wildnorth

Because you’re not storing apps on your chromebook like you do on a phone, and all your data is being saved to the cloud.

http://omgubuntu.co.uk/ Joey-Elijah Sneddon

Apps and some data for apps are stored locally, it’s what allows some apps to run offline. This is why, for heavy apps users (particularly those who use games) 16GB can quickly fill up. On my Samsung Chromebook for instance, I have 4GB free despite feeling like I have next to nothing on it.

brad

That’s a bit of a price jump but I think it’s worth it. I’m in the process of selling my old one to upgrade.

http://tomslominski.net/ Tom Slominski

Oof, the black one is quite hot.

paul Arnold

Is there a G3/G4 model? That, for my usage (I don’t own a smartphone), is one of the terrific aspects of the Samsung #1 series, which I own and love. ~Paul

JusticeL

So I purchased my mother who is 57 years of age an Acer 720. She has never used a computer before in her life. She loved it. For me I was amazed at how it performed. Also all the people that complain about the color reproduction of the screen, I didn’t see a problem. I would want better resolution, but for something with a 11.5 inch screen you cannot really complain.

I am saying all that to say I hope the Samsung Chromebook2 has better performance out of the 13 or I will be buying myself a Acer 720 or a HP Chromebook 14

Wesley Files

I really want to see the white version in person. The white Samsung Series 5 was the model that first caught my eye a few years ago.

Sean Lumly

The inclusion of a microSD card is a very useful feature. For a mere $20 you can augment the memory by 32GB if you choose, and for $40 – $50 you can kick it up by 64GB. For those that need large storage local files (for example video/audio taken from their mobile devices) this is perfect.